Ouch
Well, Tulip got all messed up.
I came home at 1:30pm yesterday to drive xhollydayx to a doctor's appointment. I went to let the dog out first, but I didn't have a good enough grip on her collar. She broke free and took off running before I could get her on the lead, presumably after a squirrel or something. Initial attempts to call her back were unsuccessful and I couldn't track her down. Naturally, it started pouring rain at this time too.
xhollydayx being seriously ill (as I guess is obvious or she could have driven herself), we went to the doctor and hoped Tulip would come back on her own. When we returned she was curled up by the kitchen door, but a cursory examination showed that she had a lot of blood on all of her paws. Fortunately, our vet is right down the street and was able to fit us in immediately. The listing of injuries:
- cuts (really, more like scrapes) on all four paws, especially the front ones
- a big cut on her front left leg
- dewclaw on both front legs pretty much torn off
- a small cut on her belly
- another small cut on her face
The vet cleaned up all the blood, put disinfectant on everything and removed the torn dewclaws (they'll grow back). The vet also wrapped her front paws in fabulous red bandages as the largest scrapes were there and she was already licking at them. The vet didn't feel any broken bones and Tulip was fine with him manipulating her legs and paws, so it seems like she's ok in that regard. He gave us some painkillers and antibiotics and sent us home.
At the vet's she was walking fine, but once we got home she started limping, and she's definitely having trouble putting weight on her right back leg. She can do stairs, but it's clearly an effort so I've been providing elevator services. Walks will be drastically curtailed for the next few days. Hopefully this is just a strain and she'll feel better in a few days; if it continues past that we'll take her in again to get checked out.
As to what actually happened to her, we don't know and absent her learning to speak English we probably won't. The vet doesn't think she had an argument with a car (no road burn, no broken bones, injuries only on her paws), and a fight with an animal seems unlikely because none of the cuts were puncture wounds and all four of her paws were cut, which seems unlikely from a fight. The vet speculated that perhaps she tried to jump a fence and failed, which might explain how all four paws were cut, plus the belly wound, but really we just don't know.
The moral of the story is clear. Keep a good grip on the dog's collar when you take her out.
I came home at 1:30pm yesterday to drive xhollydayx to a doctor's appointment. I went to let the dog out first, but I didn't have a good enough grip on her collar. She broke free and took off running before I could get her on the lead, presumably after a squirrel or something. Initial attempts to call her back were unsuccessful and I couldn't track her down. Naturally, it started pouring rain at this time too.
xhollydayx being seriously ill (as I guess is obvious or she could have driven herself), we went to the doctor and hoped Tulip would come back on her own. When we returned she was curled up by the kitchen door, but a cursory examination showed that she had a lot of blood on all of her paws. Fortunately, our vet is right down the street and was able to fit us in immediately. The listing of injuries:
- cuts (really, more like scrapes) on all four paws, especially the front ones
- a big cut on her front left leg
- dewclaw on both front legs pretty much torn off
- a small cut on her belly
- another small cut on her face
The vet cleaned up all the blood, put disinfectant on everything and removed the torn dewclaws (they'll grow back). The vet also wrapped her front paws in fabulous red bandages as the largest scrapes were there and she was already licking at them. The vet didn't feel any broken bones and Tulip was fine with him manipulating her legs and paws, so it seems like she's ok in that regard. He gave us some painkillers and antibiotics and sent us home.
At the vet's she was walking fine, but once we got home she started limping, and she's definitely having trouble putting weight on her right back leg. She can do stairs, but it's clearly an effort so I've been providing elevator services. Walks will be drastically curtailed for the next few days. Hopefully this is just a strain and she'll feel better in a few days; if it continues past that we'll take her in again to get checked out.
As to what actually happened to her, we don't know and absent her learning to speak English we probably won't. The vet doesn't think she had an argument with a car (no road burn, no broken bones, injuries only on her paws), and a fight with an animal seems unlikely because none of the cuts were puncture wounds and all four of her paws were cut, which seems unlikely from a fight. The vet speculated that perhaps she tried to jump a fence and failed, which might explain how all four paws were cut, plus the belly wound, but really we just don't know.
The moral of the story is clear. Keep a good grip on the dog's collar when you take her out.